Level 19 hunter twinking guide

You decided to make a level 19 hunter twink?
It won't be easy, or enjoyable, until your character is Battleground-ready. It will take a lot of well planned time and/or a big hand from one or more helpful higher levels, not to mention quite a few resources from your other characters or from an Auction House. The good news: at level 19 hunters are one of the most feared classes and with good reason as they are able to consistently out dps most if not all other classes, they have superior methods of slowing with Concussive shot and they have Aspect of the Hawk (ranged attack power increased by 15%). They are also able to track both humanoids AND beasts in their minimap, making them invaluable scouts as well as high dps nukes and with the right race and profession combinations they can even get self heals, making them much more difficult to kill. The bad news: Hunters have a fatal flaw - a line of sight which limits how often they are able to attack. That being stated, a team composed entirely or almost entirely of twink hunters in the 19 battlegrounds will be difficult, if not impossible, to beat.

Note: With the anticipated changes coming to hunters in Cataclysm, some of the gear listed below will be subject to change. All intellect, for example, will lose its primary value of providing mana and secondary value of providing attack power with the talent Careful Aim. Also, all heirloom gear will likely either a) be changed to reflect these values in Cataclysm or b) become outdated and replaced with new Cataclysm bind on account gear (assuming Blizzard makes new BtA gear in Cataclysm). As of now, however, this guide is largely incorrect and incomplete.

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If you don't care much about the looks of your new character, you might want to consult the table below to maximize the potential of your twink. The main attribute is Agility although some players prefer a higher Stamina base stat. Intellect also plays a factor for Hunters as you'll burn through your mana constantly

Alliance Hunters choosing Agility end up with a Night Elf, while choosing for Stamina will lead to a Dwarf. It should be noted, however, that for alliance the Draenei are potentially the most survivable race due to their racial ability Gift of the Naaru which is a heal over time that is based on the attack power of the hunter. See table below for level 19 base stats:

All professions have potentially useful items for hunters, but not necessarily at all levels. The three gathering professions (Mining, Herbalism and Skinning) will most likely provide the most useful buffs, however Engineering and Jewelcrafting have a few useful items as well. Don't forget First Aid because it will give you access to bandages - the best of which can heal you much more quickly than basic food.

At level 19, you can level your gathering skills to level 225. Each provides you with an extra ability that can prove invaluable.

Herbalism teaches Lifeblood a simple instant healing spell with a temporary haste rating buff that grows in strength every 75 skill points. This skill is considered critical for any hunter since it extends their survivability well beyond normal. this skill can be learn up to 200 skill points.

First Aid is a critical skill, though a secondary one, that will allow the twink to make Mageweave Bandages and use Heavy Runecloth Bandages. This means a heal for up to 2,000 points every two minutes. They are best used out of combat, however, as damage causes the bandaging & healing to stop.

Jewelcrafting provides the ability to create Heavy Stone Statue which heals for roughly 400 damage over 20 seconds, even in combat, which can be useful in tight situations. When used in combination with Lifeblood from Herbalism (and Gift of the Naaru if the player is Draenai), the player will be able to take significant amounts of punishment.

The other professions:

Inscription allows the player to create their own scrolls, which can be useful for crafting Scroll of Agility II, but it doesn't provide any inherent ability until the player is higher level.

Alchemy allows the player to craft many useful potions that they need, but again doesn't provide any inherent usefulness to the player until they have reached skill level 400+

Blacksmithing allows a highly skilled player (400+) to place a socket in their gloves, but again twinks cannot benefit from this because they are too low.

It may be useful to have a side-alt of low to moderate level (15+) simply to be able to train in order to be able to make potions and scrolls for all of your twink's needs.

Mining gave Toughness (mining) (removed with Warlords of Draenor) up to rank 3, to skill level 225, providing +7 stamina.

Skinning gave Master of Anatomy (removed with Warlords of Draenor) up to rank 3, providing +9 to your critical strike rating. This is excellent for those hunters focusing on agility and critical strike.

This is a summary of the most applicable items for a Hunter twink. Some options (such as [Blood Elf Bandit Mask]) were not included as they are clearly the last resort, they offer no statistics (or inferior statistics) and will generally lower the level of the twink overall.
Please note that the order in which these items appear is important; the items are ranked from top to bottom, although in some cases personal preference may dictate that items toward the bottom are better. To make the choice somewhat easier, the drop percentages for certain items are included as provided by Wowhead. The best statistics have been included for those items that have a range of potential statistics (such as the [Massive Battle Axe] listed under weapons). Also note: heirloom items suffer no durability loss in either pvp or pve combat due to attacks or death. Also one more thing some item have been grandfather with the release of Mist of Pandaria (as in you can't get them anymore but if you do have them you can still use them.)

[Seal of Wrynn] (BoP) Quest reward from [31] An Audience with the King This quest is available starting from level 16, but will require the help of a higher level player in order to complete the chain since it requires the player to run through the deadmines and the stockades as well as defeat two level 30-31 mobs in order to finish.

Some commenters believe that this does better damage than either [Venomstrike] or [Charmed Ancient Bone Bow] due to it's high-end damage. [Venomstrike] has the chance for a proc, however, and while certain racials (dwarven, for example) favor the gun, others favor the bow.

Note that as of Patches 3.1 and 3.2 many enhancements were nerfed with a level requirement. This includes arcana head augments, many leatherworking armor kits, gun/bow scopes, etc. The listing below has been updated to 3.2.

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[Enchant Cloak - Stealth] Permanently enchant a cloak to increase Agility and dodge by 8. this enchant is dropped in AQ and can also be bought in Outlands if you are a enchanter.

Lasts 15 minutes, but has a couple of limitations: Can only be purchased when your faction controls Halaani, Costs 1 gold 60 silver per drought and you can only carry 3 at a time. Gives the highest stamina boost (+20) of all the food buffs.

Note: Unless otherwise noted, most food buffs only last 15 minutes. Items that do not provide buffs or provide less than the standard +6 Stamina, +6 Spirit have not been included. Seasonal only food items such as those available during Pilgrim's Bounty and Hallow's End are also not included.

Transforms the target into a Leper Gnome, reducing its melee damage and spell power by 40 and its movement rate by 20% for 12 sec.

This is a recipe available from Gnomeregan, though it may require a run through by a higher level toon to obtain (or better yet obtained by a higher level toon and sent to your hunter). This is NOT a trinket and so any player can use it - whether an engineer or not. It provides a slowdown effect as well as turning the target into a leper gnome and additionally lowing their spell power and attack power. The only drawback: It only has 5 charges per item, which is low considering the cost and time required to make such items.

Note: all buffs can now only go to rank 2 per level 19 requirements. It is no longer possible to attain level 70+ from high levels and retain them in battlegrounds. Also note: group (notably raid buffs) buffs are immediately debuffed upon leaving the group, so unless the twink has received an individual buff from a priest, druid, paladin, etc. then that buff will no longer be present upon entering Warsong Gulch.

As of Patch 5.0.1 at level 10, you pick a Specialization which will incude Attacks just for that specialization, and at lvl 15, 30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 you get to pick from the telant tree. These can be changed using without out see you trainer using Vanishing Powder (up to lvl 80), Dust of Disappearance (lvl 81 and above), and Tome of the Clear Mind (lvl 86 and above)

As for a level 19 Hunter you get to choose from three talents at level 15.

It is possible to get to [Furbolg Medicine Pouch]. Either run north from Ashenvale to the Deadwood village west of the Emerald Sanctuary, or have a Warlock summon you to Timbermaw Hold. Run into some mobs and die, then follow someone killing Deadwood Furbolgs in Felpaw Village until you reach honored. Unfortunately, the pouch is only available as an offhand item, the healing ability doesn't work at level 19, the pouch cannot be used in combination with two-handed weapons, and (most importantly) cannot be used with ranged weapons.